Secrets of a Slave: Discontinued: Up for Adoption?
by mikanlove
Summary: Misaki Ayuzawa has a gambling, drinking father. One day, when he runs out of money to gamble with, he bets on his daughter, and loses. Misaki was sold as a slave to a rich, young businessman named Usui Takumi. Misaki began to learn more about herself and her unknown past, and found herself opening up to him rather quickly. They both even may find themselves slowly falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! This story is going to be pretty lengthy, and I'm excited! This is my first author's notes section I've written (I just realized) and... yeah! Enjoy the first chapter!

* * *

It was a bright Saturday morning. I yawned, stretching my limbs, before getting out of my warm bed. I immediately grab a broom and start sweeping the floors of our house. I lived with my father, Sakuya Ayuzawa. My mother died a few years ago after moving away with my younger sister, Suzuna. Apparently, she didn't want to live with my father anymore because she believed that he cared about gambling more than his family. Which was true. Last night, he didn't even come home. Probably out at some bar or casino of some sort.

After sweeping the floors, I went to the bathroom to wash up. I splashed some cold water in my face, and began to brush my teeth. Life for me was pretty lonely. My father was rarely home, only coming back to collect something that he bet on and had lost. I rinse my mouth out, and pat my face dry. I hear the sound of a door opening. I quickly run out of the bathroom to greet my father.

"Hello, Father," I say. "How was your day?" I ask. He looks guilty. Probably lost another dumb gamble.

"Hey, Misaki," he says, rubbing his arm and smiling sheepishly. "Can you come with me for a second?" he asks. I nod.

"Let me change real quick," I tell him, running to my room. It wasn't very often that I was allowed outside, so something very important must've happened. I threw on a black tank top, some blue jean shorts, and a baggy orange sweatshirt. I slid on my brown sandals and walked out of my room, back to the front door.

"Great. Let's go," he says a bit impatiently, opening the door. I stepped outside first, and he followed.

"Where are we going?" I curiously ask. He avoids my gaze.

"You... You'll see when we get there," he simply responded, a fake smile plastered onto his face. I sigh.

* * *

"Dad... why are we in an alleyway...?" I wonder aloud. It was almost pitch black in here, and it seemed very unsafe. Suddenly, I notice three figures emerge into the alleyway. I instantly got into my fighting stance.

"Who are you?" I demand. A couple of them chuckle, while one seems unamused. My father laughs sheepishly.

"Misaki, be polite," he tells me. My expression softens, and I get out of the strange position.

"Why? Who are they?" I ask him, very confused. One of the three figures raised an eyebrow, though it was hard to tell through the darkness.

"Oh? You didn't tell her yet?" the figure asks, amused. My dad shook his head. I stare at him, ready for an explanation. He sighs.

"Misaki, I made a bet. With no money left, I bet on you... and lost," he explains. My eyes widen. What kind of father was he? "So, now you belong to these men, and you'll be sold as a slave," he says solemnly. "I'm sorry, I'll buy you back when I can," he assures me, though I can sense no remorse in his voice. I can't believe I trusted him. I should've ran away with Mom and Suzuna when I had the chance! The men scanned my body a few times, before grabbing my arm.

"She's a pretty one," one says as if I were an object.

"Yeah, she's got a nice body for sure," another adds. Dragging me to their vehicle parked right outside the alleyway, they threw me inside a back compartment. It would've been pretty roomy, had there not been about seven other girls in the back with me. Three were asleep, two looked traumatized, and the remaining two were talking in hushed voices.

"H-hello..." I say. Not much of a greeting, but I was hoping one of them would talk to me. The one with dark brown hair looked at me, and gave me a weak smile.

"Hey..." she greeted back. She scanned me up and down.

"You're pretty well dressed for a slave," she says, gesturing towards her torn, skin-tight dress. I shiver at the thought of having to wear something like that.

"Um... this is my first time being a... slave..." I respond, the word 'slave' now registering in my brain. I was a slave. I've heard many horrible stories of slaves who were abused by their masters. Oh god. What have I gotten into?!

"Ah... I see," she nods solemnly. "You're going to have a rough time," she warns me. I feel a horrible feeling in my gut, but I ignore it.

"Not looking forward to it..." I sigh. Suddenly, the vehicle comes to a stop. The door to our compartment opened, and the men who were in the alleyway with me dragged us all out. One of the men threw me a revealing dress that I was forced to change into. Damn it. Luck really isn't on my side today. I walked back into the compartment, changed within seconds, and jumped out of the wagon-like vehicle.

They tied ropes on our arms, and forced us to walk. We were lead to the middle of a crowd. Then, our arms were tied to a wooden pole, and so were our feet. What the hell was happening?

People walked by, observing us. Wait a minute... Were we being sold at a market? Reality then hit me. Really hard.

"I- please, let me go! I don't want to be here!" I yell, struggling in the ropes. A stranger comes up to me and slaps me straight across the face. It hurt like hell. I refused to show it, though.

"Someone better tame this one over hear," he clicked his tongue in disapproval. He looked like he was in his thirties, and he had brown hair. I shiver under his gaze. He specifically eyed my chest. "Such a shame, she's quite a beauty," he adds, walking away. One of the men who was selling us walked over to me, and looked like he was very upset with me. A sadistic smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand...

"How much for the raven haired girl?" a man askes, holding the slave-selling psycho's arm in order to prevent him from hurting me. He had spiky blonde hair, and looked only a year or two older than me. He narrowed his eyes at the man.

"2000 dollars," the man replies, smirking. He obviously didn't want me bought. The blonde man shot back a smirk of his own, however, as he handed over 2000 dollars to psycho-man.

"There you go, I'll be taking the girl now," he says, untying the ropes by my feet and then my hands. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I was about to walk by his side, but he surprised me by sweeping me off my feet.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" I shriek in embarrassment. He shrugs nonchalantly.

"I bought you, so I can do whatever I want with you now," he replies. He suddenly gets so close to my ear that I could feel his warm breath on it. "Also, isn't it quite uncomfortable to walk in such an exposing dress?" he whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I blush a dark shade of red, as he opens a limo door and gently places me down into the fancy car. He takes a seat right next to me. I give him a look of confusion.

"Why are we inside a limo?" I ask, frowning. He laughs.

"My grandfather is the owner of Walker Corps," he explains. I choke on my spit.

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you," I say between coughs. "I thought you said Walker Corps for a second there," I laugh. He looks at me, his eyes dead serious.

"I did say that," he confirms, an amused glint in his eye. I stare at him, wide-eyed. I was going to be working for the owner of the Walker Corps's grandson?!

"We're here, Master Usui," the driver announces. Usui, apparently his name is, opens the door and walks out of the limo, and holds it open, waiting for me to come out. I slide out of the limo, and follow Usui into the hou- WHAT THE HELL? This was no house. It looked like a freaking castle! I stand there, my jaw slightly open in shock.

"You never told me you were a prince!" I yell accusingly. He chuckles, running a hand through his hair.

"Now now, I know I'm handsome, but a prince...?" he teases. I blush, puffing out a cheek in anger.

"I meant the castle, you moron!" I fume, before realizing where I was. I was a slave now, and he was my master. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," I stammer, recalling the stories about slaves being abused. He seems to sense my fear and doesn't tease me about it. Instead, he completely ignores my rude remark and apology.

"It's actually one of my smaller mansions," he shrugs, gesturing for me to come inside. I trail behind him silently into the mansion.

"Ah, dear brother, welcome home," I hear someone greet. Dear brother...? Usui had a brother? "I see you've brought someone with you," he observed, looking at my appearance. "Slave?" he guesses. Usui nods in confirmation, walking to the kitchen. I follow him, not quite knowing what to do. "Don't we have enough maids and such?" his brother asks from the other room.

"Whatever," Usui mutters. He takes a seat at a large dining table. I take a seat across from him. He clears his throat. "So, tell me a little bit about yourself," he instructs. I shift a bit in my chair.

"Uhm, my name is Misaki Ayuzawa," I introduce myself. "I'm 16 years old..." I end awkwardly. He looks at me, his eyes full of amusement. I avert my gaze. I can hear him cough to stifle a laugh. Bastard.

"How did you become a slave?" he asks. "If that isn't too personal, of course," he adds. I shake my head.

"First time slave," I answer. He looks up at me.

"Oh? Really?" he asks. I nod. "How'd you get swept into doing such a job?" he pries further. I frown.

"It's a long story," I sigh. "Basically, my father decided to bet on me, and he lost, so here I am..." I explain in the simplest way possible. He nods his head.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he responds to my story, though there's barely a trance of sympathy in his voice. I roll my eyes.

"Anywhere would be better than living with him, so don't feel bad," I assure him, standing up, and trying to walk upstairs. Keyword, trying to. My short dress got caught in God knows what, and as I tried to walk away, I tripped and fell flat on my face, tearing a huge chunk of the dress off.

"Ayuzawa!" he calls, checking to see if I'm hurt.

"I'm fine," I moan, getting up. Suddenly, I look down and realize the loss of fabric. You could see my underwear! And it's not like the men gave us much to wear. Everything was very revealing, including the underwear. I stare in horror at the tear, my face turning a very dark shade of red. Usui laughed a bit at my stupefied expression.

"Satsuki! Honoka!" he calls. In a matter of seconds, two maids dashed over to the kitchen.

"Yes, Master?" a maid with peach hair chirps.

"Please get her dressed in something more... modest," he instructs. Both the maids nod, before guiding me upstairs, and into a fully furnished room.

"This will be your new room," the maid with dark purple hair told me. I nod. It was such a beautiful, luxurious room. "Oh, by the way, I'm Satsuki! I'm the head maid around here," she introduced. "But you can call me Sat-chan, Suki-chan, or any other cute nickname if you'd like!" she cheers, a wide smile on her face. I swore I could see little flowers around her for a second or two.

"And I'm Honoka," the maid with peach hair introduced. "Don't be a nuisance around here, okay?" she warned with a sweet giggle. She seemed surprised when I gave a laugh of my own.

"I'm Misaki," I introduce. "I hope we can all get along!" I grin. Honoka's expression softens, and Satsuki starts squealing.

"I like her already!" Satsuki declared, the flowers beginning to bloom around her once again.

"Ah, about the dress..." I say, awkwardly remembering that they could see my underwear. Satsuki and Honoka both nod.

"Yes yes, of course... let's see..." Satsuki mutters, digging through my closet, and Honoka searching in cabinets.


	2. Chapter 2

I was dressed in a burgundy red dress that reach my knees, and had sleeves that went down mid-arm. There were golden laces in the front and and near the upper part of my chest, there was a small golden bow tied there. All in all, it was beautiful.

"Misa-chan, you look adorable!" Satsuki squeals in delight. Misa-chan? That's a new one.

"Thanks," I say, giving a little twirl and watching the skirt fly in a circle behind me.

"Oh, Master Usui told us that he wanted to see you once you were done changing," Honoka chimes in. I nod.

"We'll be leaving now! Bye Misa-chan!" Satsuki calls, running out of my room and slamming it shut. They really were kind people. I slip on some beige sandals, and walk downstairs to meet with Usui. I see him waiting for me at the front door.

"Hello, sir," I greet with a small bow. He chuckles.

"You can call me Usui," he offers. I nod.

"Usui it is," I say. He smiles. "You wanted to see me?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "Have you ever gone horse riding?" he hinted. Was he going to take me to ride a horse?

"Um, no," I confess, blinking a few times at the rather random question. He grins.

"Great, I'll get to be your first, then," he teases. I blush a dark shade of red, and punch him in the arm a few times.

"You pervert, don't say things that can be so easily misunderstood!" I fume, still punching his arm.

"Ah ah," he made a sound of disapproval, catching my hands in his. "A slave shouldn't hit her Master," he sighs. "Guess I'll just have to punish you," he whispers, cupping my cheek in his hand. My eyes widen, as he slowly backs me up into a wall. "Call me 'Master'..." he orders, his hot breath against my ear causing shivers to run down my spine. All of a sudden, vivid memories appear into my head. My knees buckle and I find myself sobbing uncontrollable on the floor.

" _Please don't hurt me..." a five year old me cries. The older man takes a chug out of his beer bottle before turning back to me, a sadistic smirk permanently plastered onto his face._

 _"Shut up and enjoy what I give you... worthless brat..." the scary man said, pulling out a small blade, and drawing blood from my wrist._

"Misaki!" I hear a voice yell. I snapped back into reality. "Misaki, what happened?!" he demanded. My throat stings from the crying, as I rub my red eyes with my hands.

"P-please don't hurt me... Master..." I whisper. I feel warm arms embrace me, though I barely register it. What the hell was that? It seemed almost like I'd experienced that dream-like "memory". How could that be possible? I knew about my past, I was certain that I wasn't a slave before... I don't understand anything right now...

"I would never hurt you..." he mumbles. "I'm so sorry, I'll never do that again," he says, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice. After a while of silence, I feel him pick me up. I don't struggle. There was too much thinking going on in my head for me to struggle. I was put down on a soft mattress. Wait, I didn't own a soft mattr- ah, right. I worked in the Walker Household now. And this was my room.

"Usui..." I whisper, gazing at him with my amber eyes. He stares back at me with those captivating emerald orbs.

"Shush... it's time for you to go to bed, my lady," he instructs, lifting the covers over my body to give me warmth. He looks at me with a pained expression. I bite my lip. I felt kind of guilty for reacting that way, but I truly couldn't help it. I was scared out of my mind, and the even more terrifying thing is I don't even know why.

"What were we going to do today...?" I wonder aloud, slowly dozing off.

"We'll do it tomorrow," he promises, placing his hand over mine. I nod slightly. "Goodnight," he says, and I hear him get up off the side of my bed and proceed to leave the room.

"Goodnight..." I murmur, not caring if he was even there anymore or not, as I let sleep take over my being. I'll explain things to him once I figure out things myself first. For now, I just needed some sleep.

* * *

"Good morning, Misaki-sama!" I hear two high pitched voices call. Misaki-sama...? Who was that?

"Wrong room..." I groan, burying my face into a pillow, trying to fall back asleep. One of the voices giggles, and I feel a hand tap me on the shoulder.

"Uh, you _are_ Misaki Ayuzawa, correct?" she asks. I lift my face out of my pillow and open my eyes to see a girl with green hair and oval shaped glasses, dressed up in a maid outfit. I blush.

"Ah, yes! I am... Sorry..." I stammer quickly. She lets out a polite laugh.

"It's quite alright," she says. I jump out of bed, ready for work.

"Alrighty! Oh, do you know where I can find my uniform?" I ask the green haired maid. She laughs nervously and shakes her head.

"Nonsense," she smiles. "We have direct orders from the master to treat you as a guest, and to not let you do any work," she notified, guiding me back into my bed. I frown and shake my head.

"Please let me work," I plead. "I'll feel really bad if I don't..." I sniffle, fake tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I've perfected the act of crying on cue back in a high school play when I had to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. The green haired maid sighed. Yes! Sighing is a sign of giving in!

"Fine... but talk to the head maid, Satsuki, about it. She has the uniforms," she explains, smiling at me. Her eyes widen quickly. "Oh! I haven't introduced myself, right? I'm Subaru," she introduced. "I've been working in this mansion for... five years now, I believe? I'm one of Satsuki's most trusted maids," she grins, boasting a bit. The other maid with auburn hair and red eyes gives me a friendly smile.

"My name is Erika," she says a bit awkwardly, just as I had when I was forced to talk about myself to Usui. "I've been working here for two years so far, so I'm fairly new," she explained. I nod my head.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Misaki as you guys probably know already, and I hope we can be good friends," I conclude. "I'm off to find Satsuki now," I announce, walking out of the room in the same burgundy red dress I wore yesterday before... Oh gosh, how will I face him after what happened? I sigh. He was supposed to be at work right now for about five more hours, so I have that much time to prepare how I want to confront him about yesterday's events.

Suddenly, I see a blob of purple dash down a hall. It immediately catches my eye. Y'know, purple hair probably means Satsuki! I chase her down the hall, and I see Satsuki open a door, then close it behind her as she entered. I clear my throat. Walking up to the door, I tap my knuckles against the door a few times, resulting in fairly loud knocks. The door opens within a matter of seconds, and Satsuki looks very excited when she sees me.

"MISA-CHAN! Of course you have my approval to marry Usui!" she cheers, jumping up and down like an overly excited high school girl. I stare at her, dumbfounded.

"Um...? I think I'm missing something here," I laugh nervously. "I'm here because I was told that if I wanted to become a maid here, I had to talk to you first..." I explain, crushing her dreams.

"Awwww... Just here for a job..." she pouts. "But yes, I can get that arranged for you immediately!" she explains, returning to her usual cheery attitude. I watch as Satsuki opens a closet, and grabs a maid uniform out. She digs through a few other compartments to fish out an apron and some shoes, before throwing the attire towards me. I catch it, surveying the clothing. It was actually a pretty modest dress, considering it was made for maids to wear.

"Thanks, Satsuki," I say, walking into a dressing room. Hmm, so the room Satsuki ran into must've been the maid's lounge room or something of the sort. I change into the uniform quickly, and smoothing down the skirt, I walked out of the dressing room. Satsuki immediately had a nosebleed.

"Misaki you're the cutest thing I've ever laid my eyes on! I'm sure Usui will be very pleased when he sees you in this!" she gushes, squealing in delight. I blush.

"Thank you," I smile awkwardly. That's a compliment I've never received before... Which reminds me about how I'm going to confront Usui.

My thoughts are cut short when I hear the sound of the front door opening. Uh-oh. Usui's home.


	3. Chapter 3

"S-Satsuki, I'm going to go dust the library shelves," I stutter, quickly looking for a distraction. She gave me an unsure look.

"I don't know... maybe you should go greet Master Usu-" she starts, but I cut her off. I didn't want to have to do this...

"Satsuki-chan..." I whine, a cute pout on my face. Another nosebleed from the head maid.

"Awhh! You're playing dirty, Misa-chan! So cute though! Ah, you're dismissed!" she squeals, using her apron to cover her nose in order to stop the gushes of blood. Quickly and quietly, I sneak down the hallway, and find a door that read 'Library' right above. Deciding this was my destination, I took a step inside. Unfortunately, Subaru came running up to me just at that moment.

"Misaki-sama, Master Usui would like to have a word with you," she says to me. I frown. Did I have to listen to his orders?

"Do I have to?" I ask quietly. "Oh, and please drop the '-sama' thing. I'm a maid here just like you," I explain. She nods.

"Okay, Misaki it is then," Subaru confirms. "And yes, you do have to," she verifies. My frown deepens. "Go to his room," she instructs, pointing to the ceiling. Ah, so his room is upstairs.

"Okay, thank you Subaru," I express my gratitude, and make my way upstairs. There was a very long hallway, with at least twelve doors in it.

"Wow," I gasp, but quickly realize that I had no idea which door was Usui's. I'd have to guess. Suddenly, a realization hits me. I didn't actually have to go to his room. How foolish of me! Why was I taking orders from him after how scared he made me feel yesterday! A sense of anger washes over me, and I run downstairs and into my bedroom. I hurriedly scribble a note onto a blank sheet of white paper.

* * *

 _Don't worry about me and please don't miss me. I'm sorry that your money was wasted on me. I promise I'll repay you one day._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Misaki Ayuzawa_

* * *

Leaving the note in a visible spot, I eye a tree branch that was right outside the window. I open the large window, swing my arms back, and leapt for the branch. Grasping onto it as planned, I suddenly heard a knock at my door _._

"Misaki?" I heard a lower, but feminine voice call. Maybe Erika? Well, whoever it was, this wasn't going to look very good... Crap, I have to act fast! Without any notice, the door to my bedroom opens. It was Erika, just as I'd suspected. The first thing the noticed was the note. While she read the note, I decided to move. I jumped for the next branch, and latched onto it. All of a sudden, I looked at the ground. Only then did I notice how high I was. If I fell from here, I would definitely die, no questions asked. I gulped. I felt the branch I was holding onto crack a bit, and I screamed in fear. That got Erika's unwanted attention. She looked out the window, and made eye contact with me. She shrieked in fear as well, and looked like she was going to faint. The branch snapped a little more. I bit my lip. There were no more nearby branches to grab onto. I should've thought this out a little better...

"Erika please don't worr-AHH!" I tried to reassure her, only to make her even more frightened. Strange thing was, she was way, and I mean WAY, more scared than me. Though I'll admit, I am a bit fearful. I mean, I'm only hanging from a tree branch about 100 feet up in the air. No biggie. Note the sarcasm.

"Stay there Misaki! I'm going to get help!" she yelled, running out of my room and off somewhere. I roll my eyes. Where was I going to go? I mean, besides to my death, of course. Another terrifying sound coming from the branch snapped me out of my thoughts. This was it. This is how I'm going to die. I close my eyes, but reopen them when I see Erika return with about 4 other people. Satsuki, Honoka, Subaru, herself, and... Usui...

"Misaki?! What the hell are you doing!?" Usui yells at me from my bedroom window. I childishly stick my tongue out at him. Even in a situation like this. I hear him cuss under his breath, before he leaps out of the window. What the hell is this alien doing? He leaps over to my branch, and it immediately snaps under the weight of us both combined. He quickly pulls me into a hug. Ahh, it's so warm. I'd love to die happily in this embrace right now actuall- oh? Why didn't we hit the ground?

"Am I dead yet?" I ask, glancing around in every direction. Looking down, I notice a rope fastened around our waists, and the other end of the rope tied up somewhere in my bedroom. Only Usui could manage something like this within a matter of seconds.

"No, but you will be soon if you keep doing reckless things like that," he retorts. I bite my tongue to keep myself from making any rude remarks. He was already in a pretty bad mood. Probably because I almost got myself killed. He untied the rope from our waists, and picked me up bridal style.

"I can walk you know..." I say, careful with my words.

"You might end up in a tree again," he bitterly responds, kicking open the front door to his mansion. He carried me in silence all the way back to my bedroom. The maids cheered when they saw me safe (and Satsuki had a moeness overload breakdown, as she calls it), but Usui remained silent. I bit my bottom lip, blinking back a few tears. Everyone seemed to notice the tenseness between the two of us.

"Uh, guys, I think we should go and clean the library now," Erika hints to the rest of the staff, and they all nod in agreement. They all leave the room one by one, and Honoka closes the door behind her. We both didn't know what to say to each other. I decided to speak up.

"Why did you risk your life to save me?" I ask, genuinely curious. He looks at me, his expression looking a bit... pained...?

"Why wouldn't I save you?" he replies. I shrug.

"I'm just a slave. I'm worthless," I explain. He shakes his head, a now unreadable expression on his face.

"You're not worthless at all. You're a beautiful, strong, young lady," he argues, as if I had insulted him. I blush a bit. Beautiful? Usui thought I was beautiful? I fought a smile that was trying to make its way onto my face.

"Usui?" I ask cautiously.

"Hmm?" he lazily responds.

"Are you mad at me?" I frown. He looks at me, mildly amused.

"Do I seem mad at you?" he asks me. Why the hell does he keep answering my questions with another question?

"Yes," I respond. He chuckles. I glare at him.

"Well, yes and no. I was mad at you," he explains. "But has anyone ever told you that you're hard to stay mad at?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Quite the opposite, actually." I laugh. "People tell me I'm too stubborn to teach and that's why they're always upset with me," I tell him. He nods in acknowledgement. "Usui?" I ask again.

"Yes?" he prompts for me to carry on.

"Do you forgive me?" I gulp.

"For what?" he asks, knowing well what I mean. I sigh.

"For... y'know, trying to escape and almost dying..." I murmur. He shrugs, and holds out a sheet of white paper with a note written on it.

"Once you explain what this is, yes, I will," he says.

"Do I have to...?" I grimace. He nods affirmatively. I sigh once again. "I... I didn't know how to face you... after yesterday..." I mumble in response. He raises an eyebrow.

"So you decide to run away?" he verifies, his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly

"Okay, I forgive you. Just promise me that you'll never worry me like that again," he says, holding out his pinky finger. It was now my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Really? A pinky promise?" I snort. He rolls his eyes. I laugh a bit, but nonetheless join my pinky with his. He seems to be satisfied after that, and we both unhook our pinkies from the other person's.

"It's been a long day," he sighs, running his hand through his messy (but still good-looking) blonde hair. "Let's call it a day. Goodnight, Misaki," he smiles, walls over to the other side of my room, flips off the lights, and closes the door behind him as he leaves. A smile touches my lips, and my chest feels warm and fuzzy. Maybe heartburn? I yawn, the last thing on my mind before I drift off to sleep being a blonde haired alien.


	4. Chapter 4

Today, I woke up much earlier than usual. I was so excited, because today, Usui promised me that he'd take me somewhere after work. He said it was the thing we were going to do before the entire crying fiasco happened.

"Does this blue dress look good...? Or maybe this green one would look better..." I mutter to myself, holding up two dresses to my body.

Yes, I know. Crazy, right? Me, Misaki Ayuzawa, was actually worrying about her clothing. That's a first. I hear the door to my room open, and I spin around to see Satsuki standing there. I grin at her.

"Hey Satsuki!" I greet. She giggles.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood today. Anything good happen...?" she asks as if she were hinting at something. I shake my head.

"Well, Usui's taking me somewhere today, but other than that, no," I respond, showing her the two dresses I was deciding between. She looks a bit disappointed.

"So nothing happened when we left you two alone in this bedroom?" she frowns. I laugh.

"Don't worry, we didn't have a pillow fight," I smile. Satsuki bursts out laughing all of a sudden. She laughed so hard that she choked on some of her saliva and erupted into a fit of coughs.

"Satsuki! Oh no, are you okay?!" I yelp, patting Satsuki's back. Once her laughter dies down, she turns to look at me.

"Oh, Misaki, you're so innocent and cute," she muses. I crinkle my nose. I don't understand what just happened at all.

"Uh... Okay...?" I mutter, leaving it at that. Satsuki takes the two dresses out of my hands.

"These dresses will not do for a date," she says, twirling around a few times. Hanging the dresses back up, she searches my closet. I blush.

"It's not a d-date!" I protest, the blush on my face darkening. She nods, not fully listening to me. I see her face light up as she pulls out a very simple but beautiful dress. I smile at her, take the dress, and quickly change in the bathroom. When I walk out, she stares at me in awe.

It was maroon colored to compliment my eyes. The skirt's sides were longer than the front and back, and it was flowy in order to move your legs comfortably. The dress ended shortly above my knees, so I wore black leggings underneath it. The shoes I was to wear with the dress were dark brown open-toed sandals. Satsuki French-braided my hair to go in front of my right shoulder. Everything was perfect.

"I'm the most spoiled slave ever," I laugh. Satsuki clicks her tongue.

"Don't call yourself a slave- you're a maid," she instructs.

"Well, I'm the most spoiled maid ever, then," I roll my eyes. "Happy?" I ask. She nods. I hear the front door open, and I run downstairs fast as lightning. Sadly, I trip on the last step and get sent crashing into the floor. A pair of strong arms catch me before I hit the hard surface.

"Woah, you okay?" he asks. I look up to see Usui, as expected. Except his face is only a few inches from mine, which causes my face to heat up.

"Y-yeah, never been better!" I exclaim, standing up on my own. He nods.

"That's good," he answers, and I notice him look at my clothing. "Cute outfit, you look nice," he grins at me, and I can't hide the small smile that touches my lips. "Let me go change real quick then we'll go outside," he tells me, going upstairs to his room. I suddenly wonder what Usui works as. Was it something cool? Like a lawyer or a doctor? A teacher maybe?

"Ready to go?" a voice snaps me out of my thoughts. This seems to happen a lot recently.

"Yep!" I chirp, opening the door and walking out. He closes the door behind him and locks it. As we walk around the huge mansion, Usui clears his throat.

"Have you ever at least seen a horse before?" he asks me. "Because I remember you telling me that you've never ridden one the other day," he adds. I shake my head.

"I don't believe I've ever seen a real horse in my life," I respond honestly. He nods and stops walking.

"Well then, today shall be your first," he announces, gesturing to the stables full of horses. I look at all of them, but one especially catches my eye. She was a beautiful, black mare, with a few white patches on her body. Her mane and tail were raven black. I liked her the moment I set my eyes on her.

"Wow..." I breathe. I can see him studying my expression from the corner of my eye. "Thanks for showing them to me. Can I pet one?" I ask. He raises an eyebrow.

"Why pet one when you can ride one?" he asks. My eyes widen.

"B-but I don't know how to ride a horse!" I argue. He shrugs.

"I'll just have to teach you then," he says nonchalantly, walking over to a horse. The one he chose was a chestnut brown stallion, with a black mane and tail. Though it may seem generic, there was something special about this horse. It had lots of life, and you could definitely see it in his eyes.

"Have you decided which one you want?" he asks me. I nod, and point to the black and white mare.

"That one," I say.

"Good choice," he compliments me, opening the stable door with his key. He grabs it by the reins and leads it out. "Hold this," he says, passing me the reins. I listen to his command and take the reins in my hands. Usui holds my waist, before lifting me up into the air. I kick my legs around in protest.

"Put me down!" I squeal.

"Calm down," he sighs, setting me down on my horse. I blush.

"Oh, that's all you were doing..." I mutter. He chuckles.

"What? Were you expecting something more?" he asks a bit teasingly. I avoid his gaze.

"Of course not," I say, rolling my eyes, casually giving the reins a hard tug, forgetting that I didn't know how to even ride a horse. Bad move. The horse ran off at full speed, leaving me tightly hugging its fuzzy neck in order to stay alive. Soon afterwards, I saw Usui right beside me, on his own chestnut horse.

"Misaki!" he called. I felt slightly better knowing that Usui was here with me. Unfortunately, our horses rode off into the middle of a forest. Suddenly, they took a very sharp turn, causing me to slip and fall off the black and white horse. Usui halted his horse, before climbing down to check me for injuries.

"Usui..." I moan in pain. There was a horrible feeling in my right knee that signaled me something was wrong with it.

"Are you okay? What were you thinking?!" he asks. I sigh. This is the second time I've almost gotten myself killed within two days. That's definitely a new record. I sniffle.

"I'm so sorry..." I choke out. Uh-oh, here comes the waterworks. "I- I keep getting you into dangerous situations... I'm a horrible slave," I tell him. He shakes his head.

"Misaki, I don't think of you as a slave," he says, wrapping his arms around me. I tense up, but allow him to embrace me.

"I... I'm glad you think that," I admit, a small smile on my face. Luckily, the tears never came, thanks to him.

"Now that you're happy again," he starts, unwrapping his arms from me and standing up with his hands on his hips. "We need to figure out how to get out of this forest..." he mutters, looking around and tapping his chin in thought.

"Let's just wander," I shrug. "We'll have to stumble upon something sooner or later," I reason. He nods.

"Wander aimlessly around an unknown forest," he repeats. "Sounds like a plan," he jokes. I roll my eyes.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" I retort, glaring at him.

"Not really," he responds honestly. "Let's go with yours then," he concludes, walking towards his horse. Apparently, mine had run off to some unknown location, so we were left with only one horse now.

Yes, me, Misaki Ayuzawa, was stuck in a forest with the one and only Usui Takumi. A normal girl's dream, but certainly not mine.


	5. Chapter 5

Usui was guiding the horse, while I sat right behind him, my arms laced around his stomach in order not to fall off. It was quite peaceful, actually. I'll admit it, being stuck in a forest with this guy actually wasn't so bad.

"Misaki, listen," I hear him say. I stay silent and listen carefully. I hear a distant but recognizable sound. Almost like... water. Wait a minute.

"Oh my god! Water!" I cheer. "Let's go!" I exclaim.

"Hold on tight," he warns. I oblige, my mind set on finding the source of the sound. Suddenly, the horse took off at an alarmingly fast pace. Good thing Usui warned me beforehand. I could hear the sound of water getting louder and louder the closer we went. Eventually, I could make out the shape of a small waterfall.

"Usui, do you see that?" I yell to him over the loud sound of wind in our ears due to the speed. I pointed straight ahead at the waterfall. I couldn't see his expression since his back was toward me.

"Yeah, I do," he answered back. I could hear a smile in his voice. Once we arrived at our destination, I hurriedly jumped off the horse, and was about to dive into the clear, tempting water, but Usui stopped me from doing so.

"What's wrong?" I ask, only to see him pull of his shirt. Damn, he was pretty sexy. Wait, did I actually just think that?! Snap out of it, Misaki!

"Don't wet your clothes, or you'll catch a cold," he informs me. I blush.

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Take them off?" I reply sarcastically. He looks at me.

"Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do," he answered honestly. I could tell he didn't have any perverted intentions, so I hesitantly pulled off my dress. I decided to leave my tank top on, and I took off my tights, making sure to leave on the shorts I wore over them.

"Is it cold?" I ask Usui, who was already fully in the water.

"Just at first," he promises, waving me over. I take a few steps back, before running at full speed and jumping into the water, purposely splashing some on Usui. The water was freezing at first, but just as he'd said, it warmed up within a matter of seconds.

I could feel the bottom of the lake with my feet, so I walked around in the water a bit. Wading a bit deeper, I screamed as I lost my footing and slipped face first into the water. It was unexpected, so I forgot to hold my breath, leaving me to swallow large amounts of water. I had very little oxygen right now, so I used every last bit of my strength to swim back to the surface. When I popped my head back up, I could see Usui looking for me.

"Misaki, are you okay?" he asks, noticing me choking.

"Yeah, I just slipped," I reply in between coughs, slamming my chest with my fist. Usui frowns.

"We should get you warmed up," he suggests. "There should be a hotel somewhere around here," he says. I look at him and raise an eyebrow.

"So, you knew where we were the whole time? We weren't lost after all?" I accuse. He shakes his head.

"Well, we were lost," he explains, "but since I live near this forest I have explored here once a couple years ago. I remember spotting this river, and next to this river there should be a hotel nearby," he says. I nod.

"Okay, so let's find the hotel," I casually say.

"Get dressed first," he tells me, getting out of the water. I get out right after him, and get back into my maroon dress and black leggings.

"All done," I announce. "Let's go now," I say eagerly. He chuckles, hopping onto the horse. I carefully climb up, before wrapping my arms securely around Usui's waist. He gets the horse moving again, and we ride off somewhere. It was getting pretty dark out, so we needed to find the hotel quickly. In the distance, I see a small light. Maybe that was it?

"We're almost there," he tells me, riding towards the light. I shiver a bit. It was pretty windy out. Once we arrive at the hotel, we get off the chestnut horse. He ties it up to a tree, before walking into the small building. It didn't look much like a hotel- more like a small cottage. I follow him inside.

"Hello?" I hear Usui ask. A middle-aged woman came out from a room behind the front desk. She had short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Oh, hello! You two must be freezing, would you like a room?" she welcomes us politely, pulling out a binder full of papers and a ballpoint pen.

"Yes, please," I say, walking up to the desk and leaning against it.

"Names?" she asks.

"I'm Takumi Usui Walker," he answers. The lady nods her head, scribbling down the name on a chart of some sort.

"And you, young lady?" she points at me with her pen.

"Misaki Ayuzawa," I reply. I could see her tense up very visibly.

"I didn't quite catch that," she says quietly, as if she were deep in thought. "Last name is Ayuzawa...?" she confirms. I nod.

"Yep, Misaki Ayuzawa," I repeat. She seems in shock, but maybe it's just my imagination. I watch her carefully write my name down right next to Usui's. She holds out a key for me to take, so I did.

"Room 13," she tells me. "Enjoy your stay," she says, before disappearing in the room she came from. We decide to take the stairs since our room was on the floor just above the lobby.

"That was strange," Usui comments.

"How so?" I ask, continuing up the stairs.

"I don't know... just something about it was weird," he replies with a shrug. I frown.

"Maybe you're just over-thinking it," I conclude, finding the door to our room. "10, 11, 12... 13!" I count each unit number we walk by. Usui chuckles before unlocking the door, and flinging it open.

"Yippee!" I cheer, running inside, and jumping onto the bed. That's when I noticed a slight problem. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I said 'the bed'. Which means there is only ONE BED! I quickly scramble off the bed, and snatch a pillow and blanket, leaving the bed bare. Yep, you heard me once again! There was only one blanket and one pillow. I'm officially signing out of life.

"What are you doing?" he asks. I blush.

"T-t-there's um... only one... b-bed..." I stammer, my face bright red in embarrassment. He smirks.

"Then we'll just have to share it, now won't we?" he says, taking the pillow and blanket out of my hands and making the bed neat again.

"L-like hell I'm going to sleep on the same bed as you!" I yell. He just laughs.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he tells me, grabbing a robe from the closet, before making his way into the bathroom. That brings back the memories from when Usui took off his shirt and I could see his good-looking abs... I swear I was droolin- WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, MISAKI?! You cannot think such weird thoughts about your master! Also you'd be a hypocrite if you ever called him a pervert ever again!

"Ugh... So frustrating..." I groan, burying my face into a pillow. Hey, this was actually pretty comfy. My eyes fluttered shut, and I lay there in silence. This felt so nice. I could feel the soft and bouncy mattress beneath me, the fuzzy blanket, my hair being stroked... It was so relaxing. After a while, I was about to fall asleep, until realization dawned on me.

"WHO THE HELL IS STROKING MY HAIR?!" I jerk up out of my comfortable position, ready to fight off whoever was touching me. I was greeted by Usui's laughter, as I was humiliated, like always.

"You're so amusing," he laughs. I blush.

"You scared me! At least warn me next time!" I exclaim, walking over to the floor and laying down. He frowns.

"Misaki, get off the floor..." he whines. I stay on the floor.

"No, goodnight," I say, getting on my knees and turning off the lamp. Usui took this chance to grab me by my waist and throw me onto the bed.

"You will sleep here tonight, princess," he commands gently. "I'll sleep on the floor," he offers. A feeling of guilt makes my stomach churn. I grab his wrist before he can move. He turns to face me.

"Uhm," I mutter, my throat suddenly feeling dry. "D-don't sleep on the floor... you'll catch a cold..." I whisper, but he heard me loud and clear. His eyes widened, obviously surprised by my concern.

"Where do you expect me to sleep, then?" he asks, a smile tugging at his lips. I couldn't help but smile myself.

"Well... there's enough room for two on this bed..." I mumble shyly, patting the empty space on the bed. He grins at me, and I look away, an evident blush on my face. I could hear him getting settled into the bed. I was just grateful that he decided not to tease me for this. A thought suddenly came to my head.

"Hey, Usui?" I ask.

"Hmm?" he responds sleepily.

"...Do you think things would be different between us if I was a lady of higher-class rather than a slave?" I question. I couldn't see his expression in the darkness, but there was definitely a noticeable pause.

"We would've never met, then," he replies, pulling the covers over my shoulders. "Don't worry about silly things like that and go to bed," he says, though I could tell he was wondering the same thing as I was. "Goodnight," he whispers.

"Goodnight..." I respond, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"You're positive her name was Misaki Ayuzawa?" a tall lady with raven black hair asks suspiciously. The brown haired one nods.

"Yes, I've found her," she responds eagerly.

"I see... don't tell her about me, okay...?"

"Of course. Anything you want, Minako."


	6. Chapter 6

I stretch my arms and legs, letting out a loud yawn. It was morning now, as I could tell from the rays of sun shining into my eyes, causing me to squint. Only, my stretching was cut short when my leg hit something soft.

"What the hell...?" I mutter, sitting up to look at the object my foot had touched. I blush upon seeing Usui laying there peacefully. My expression softens. "Wake up," I call gently. No reply. I place a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. He stirs a bit.

"Mmm... Five more minutes..." he mutters, half-asleep.

"I'm sorry, but we should probably leave now," I say, feeling slightly guilty for having to wake him up from his slumber. He groans, sitting up on the bed.

"You're right. Lets go downstairs," he agrees, now fully awake. We make our way to the lobby. The same lady with brown hair from yesterday was there, standing at the desk.

"Oh! Hello!" she greets us, a forced grin on her face. "Did you sleep well?" she asks. Usui and I both nod.

"Are you the only employee here?" I wonder aloud. She laughs.

"No. Certainly not," she replies. "I couldn't run this hotel all by myself," she reasons, gesturing towards the building.

"Makes sense," I agree with a nod. The lady clears her throat, a grave look on her face.

"So, um, where are both your parents?" she asks us both, but stares directly at me. Strange question in my opinion, wouldn't she just assume they were at home? Then again, this was a hidden hotel in a pretty unknown forest.

"Mine live in Britain," Usui replies promptly. I swallow.

"Um... I live with Usui..." I say, trying to be as vague as possible. The lady's eyes widen.

"Oh my god! So, you guys eloped?!" she shrieked, and I couldn't quite tell if it was in excitement as Satsuki would, or in horror.

"No! We didn't elope! In fact, we're not even a couple!" I deny quickly, my hands on my hips sternly. She chuckles.

"Oh, that's too bad. You two would be such a cute couple," she comments. I blush.

"It would be impossible, anyway..." I whisper, but the lady proves to have sharp hearing.

"Forbidden love is the sweetest," she remarks, writing something into a binder. "You guys are good to go. Have a lovely day!" she says with a grin. I wave at her, still in a daze from her previous comment. I feel Usui grab my arm and help me outside. The horse was asleep outside, as expected, so we woke him up. He hadn't eaten for a while- nor have we. As if on cue, my stomach made a loud growling sound. Usui smirked.

"Hungry?" he muses. I blush.

"You think?" I reply sarcastically, getting onto the horse. Usui immediately carries me off.

"Nuh-uh, you are not guiding the horse," he scolds playfully. "We all remember what happened last time you tried that," he says, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah yeah, I know," I frown, allowing him to mount the horse. I climbed on behind him.

"Onward!" I cheer, as Usui tugs on the reins. We flew through the forest, going back the same way we came from based on landmarks.

* * *

"Misaki! Master Usui! Where have you two been?!" Honoka demands, her voice a bit gentler as she said Usui's name. I give her a guilty look.

"I kinda got us lost in the forest..." I murmur, a bit embarrassed. Honoka sighs.

"Fine... just don't let it happen again," Honoka says. I nod.

"Of course not," I promise. We give each other a smile, before Honoka walks off down the hall. She was actually a very sweet girl when you got to know her, even if seems a bit intimidating at first. I could tell she was worried about us when we disappeared. I smile at the thought. Usui sighs and runs a hand through his messy blonde hair.

"You should go wash up," he tells me.

"Oh, okay," I say. "You should as well," I offer. He smiles at me, placing a hand on my head.

"I'm glad you're concerned about me," he chuckles, causing me to blush. "But yes, I will, don't worry," he informs me.

"N-nobody's concerned about you..." I weakly protest, but I knew deep down it was true. I really was worried about this idiot. He laughs.

"If you say so," he whistles, walking to his room. A few minutes after he disappears, I decide to go get washed up as well. On the way up the staircase, I bump into someone.

"Ah!" I yell in surprise, but luckily a pair of arms catches me before I could hit the hard surface. I study the person's face. They looked like... Usui? But without the blonde hair...

"Sorry about that," he apologizes. I shake my head.

"It's fine... but Usui, why are you wearing a wig?" I ask suspiciously. The man laughs obnoxiously.

"I-I'm not Usui," he manages to say between laughs. I raise an eyebrow.

"Who are you, then?" I ask. He smiles.

"I'm Usui's half-brother, Gerard," he introduces, his hand extended towards me. I take his hand in mine before shaking it a bit.

"Misaki Ayuzawa," I recite. He nods.

"Pleasure to meet you," he says.

"Same for you," I reply, about to walk off to my room, before I felt him grab my wrist."Do you need something?" I ask.

"You and my brother seem to be pretty close," he observes. I gulp.

"C-close? What do you mean?" I demand. He chuckles.

"Quite demanding for a maid, no?" he remarks. I grit my teeth.

"What about Usui and I?" I question, a bit calmer this time. He smirks.

"Do you like him?" he asks quizzically, the same crooked smile still on his face. There it was. The question I knew I would have to answer at some point sooner or later.

"I-I..."

* * *

"Has she met Suzuna?" Minako asks. The brown haired lady shakes her head.

"She hasn't mentioned it when I asked her about family..."

"I see..." the raven haired and amber eyed woman looks up at the blue, but cloudy sky. "I wonder if she's still with us in this world..."


End file.
